Family
by Phishy Chan
Summary: Meet Your Favorite Host Challenge. SelfInsertion. Even an outsider could tell that the Host Club was a family


Family

By Phishy

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A/N: This was written as a challenge from the Sakura Kiss guild on Gaiaonline. The theme/thesis is "Meet your favorite host." 

As a result, there is self-insertion in this fic. I tried to keep it as natural as possible because I tend to hate self-insertions. But, I did this out of spontaneity, and it seemed like a fun challenge to do. Plus, it's good to try other things.

Also, the narrator is not an accurate representation of myself. She is a female student attending Ouran HS and thinks Haruhi is a boy.

Disclaimer: Nothing from Ouran HSHC is mine. The parts of this fic that I do own are the narrator (myself. Does that mean I own myself? Sounds odd) and the 'plot,' if you can call it that.

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"Third music room… Third music room… Up a long flight of stairs… Uh…," 

Well, that isn't very helpful. When I look around, several flights of stairs welcome my extremely disoriented eyes.

"...I guess I'll pick one and keep marking them off until I find one that leads to the third music room."

So, I guess I should explain who I am and what I'm doing here at this extremely rich school. While my parents aren't the owners of large and prestigious companies, they're fairly well off. At least, well off enough to send me to Ouran which, in retrospect, must be very well off indeed. It's not like just anyone comes to this school.

Such a mentality makes me feel exceedingly awkward.

Aside from being extremely wealthy, it's a good thing to be smart, too. Ah, yes. Smart. Intelligent. I forgot that the reason I was getting myself lost in this godforsaken labyrinth of a school was to meet a certain individual whose most outstanding trait happens to be just that.

Wait, wait. I heard something. Oh. Voices.

"Um, excuse me, but do you know where the third music room is?"

Despite how extremely rich everyone at Ouran is, they aren't always necessarily snobbish.

"Yes, it's up this flight of stairs. It's the only room in that hallway for a while, so you really can't miss it."

"Thank you very much!"

"Who are you going to choose as your host?"

"Uh… Huh? How did you know…?"

The girl laughed good-naturedly.

"The only thing in the Third music room is the Host Club. Naturally, you'd be going there to be with a host, right?"

"Oh…"

…Duh.

"Well, anyway, have fun! The Host club really is wonderful, just as people say."

And she left. Well, she was helpful, so that was nice. At least I know that I don't have to look around anymore. Can't be that hard. Then again, I _was_ wandering around for an hour or so, being so notoriously terrible with finding places.

So I went up those stairs.

And I found the Third music room.

And I looked in.

Something velvety and soft hit my eye. It turned out to be a rose petal.

"Welcome to the Host Club!" came a chorus of soft, but distinctively male voices.

"Who would you like as your host today, dearest maiden?" Asked a sophisticated voice. Something caressed my hand.

"I am Tamaki Suou, the Prince-type," he said. "Then there is Kyouya, the cool-type. Hikaru and Kaoru, the little devil-types. Honey-sempai, the loli-shota-type. Mori-san, the wild-type. And our newest member, of the natural-type is…"

"Fujioka Haruhi-kun!" I interjected. "Yes, that's who I want as my host!"

"Wah! Haru-chan is popular!" cried Honey-san. "Haru-chan! Haru-chan! You've got another guest!"

Haruhi-kun looked up from a table in a distant corner of the room.

"Eh? Oh. Hello, I'm Fujioka Haruhi. I'll be your host for today," he said with a lovely smile. "Would you like some tea or some cake?"

It's amazing how I was still alive, seeing as my heart melted into oblivion. I guess my brain could power the rest of my body for a little bit, even after my heart dissolved.

"T-tea is fine," I stuttered. He… was… so… CUTE.

Okay. No. NO. No fangirling. That's what stupid mindless drones do in silly crackpot shoujo anime!

Those eyes…

SO CUTE.

"Haruhi-chan! Why not offer them some commoner-coffee?" asked two voices simultaneously. Oh, right. The twins.

"You guys know that you're the only ones who care about commoner stuff in this school, right?" Haruhi-kun sighed.

"No way! Our clients like it too! It's a novelty item that you can't get anywhere else aside from the Host Club!" grinned Kaoru-kun.

"…Aside from the fact that you can get it at any supermarket anywhere? Right. It's a real novelty-item," Haruhi said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Uh… If you don't mind, I'd like to try some 'commoner's coffee,'" I asked shyly. It was impossible not to because… ARGH. Haruhi-kun was too cute!

And, of course, if Haruhi-kun drank it, it had to be something like ambrosia. A rare and delightful beverage that the Greek gods of mythology drank

"Ah? Really? Well… Okay, then. But please, have a seat first," he said, slightly surprised, I guess. Must've been some really peculiar stuff.

I sat down at the table where Haruhi-kun was sitting just a while ago, next to his other clients. Someone poked me in the rib.

"Haruhi-chan is so cute, huh?" asked a curly-headed blonde. "I just adore his eyes!"

"And he's so natural! There's nothing artificial about him!" sighed a brunette.

"He's so brave, too!"

"And _adorable_."

"And so sincere!"

"And so nice!"

"And so considerate!"

"And…And…"

And I have to say, I agreed with them. Haruhi-kun was… everything wonderful. Sugar and spice and everything nice wasn't the formula for a perfect girl… It was the formula for Haruhi-kun!

"Here's your coffee," Haruhi-kun said suddenly, holding a cup of coffee. "Would you like any sugar or cream with it?"

"Both, please. Thanks!"

"No problem," he smiled with a nod. That smile again. I melted. Again.

"Kyaa! I love his smile!" the girls squealed. By the way I was thinking, I'm surprised I haven't started joining them yet.

Ah. Haruhi-kun was back.

"Here's your cream and sugar. Hope you enjoy your coffee," he said benevolently.

"It's from you, so I'm sure I'll like it!" I thought. Er. Exclaimed. I could tell I unintentionally said what I was thinking by the sudden blush on Haruhi-kun's face.

"Oh. It's nothing, really, but thank you for the compliment," he laughed shyly.

"Um. SO. Haruhi-kun, which family do you come from?" I asked. He was probably from a pretty large company. He was extremely mannerly and charming, after all. That doesn't just come from anywhere.

"Well, I actually don't have an extremely rich family," he replied. "I came to Ouran through a scholarship."

Wow. So he _was_ brilliant.

"Amazing! That must have been extremely difficult. I guess you study a lot, then," I commented. It was true, though. You can't just wing a test and get in here.

"Yeah. Although, with the Host Club, it's getting a bit harder to find good studying time," he said with slight annoyance and a resigned look at the Hitachiin twins and Tamaki, who were currently doing some sort of dance that looked extremely similar to the mating rituals of some large, paradise-bird.

"So… You don't like the Host Club? Then why do you stay?" I asked. Was that a bit nosy of me?

"Oh, no. They're okay. They're rather insane, but they're okay, and I owe them something, so I'm pretty obliged to stay here," he replied casually. "But I certainly don't dislike them."

A look of warmth crossed Haruhi-kun's eyes.

"Everyone in the Host Club seems so close!" someone exclaimed.

"I agree!" I said. "Ah, Haruhi-kun, do you have a favorite in the Host Club?"

Again. Nosy?

"A…favorite?" he asked, surprised. "Well…"

He took another look around the room. Tamaki-sempai was currently serenading a smitten girl with the piano. Kyouya-sempai was reading poetry to his devoted clients. Honey-sempai was pretending to fly like an airplane while being supported by Mori-sempai, surrounded by delighted, squealing spectators. Kaoru-kun and Hikaru-kun were reenacting a scene from Romeo and Juliet in front of teary-eyed, adoring fans. Everything seems so scattered and random, like every host and their clients were in their own, romantic universes. It definitely looked odd to me, so I glanced at Haruhi-kun. By the look on his face, it wasn't odd. It was something that happened every day. While everyone was in their own universe, Haruhi-kun was a part of everyone else's, and they were all a part of his, too.

"I can't say I have a favorite," he finally said. "They all have their unique qualities. Because those qualities are so different, I can't pick a favorite, or else I would miss out on everyone else. If I pick only one person, it feels empty because then I'm isolating one person from the rest of the Host Club. It just seems odd."

"Wow…," I breathed. "The Host Club really _is_ close."

"Yeah. It's like another family of beautiful men," sighed another girl.

"It makes me wish I were a boy so I could join too," someone said wistfully.

"That's ridiculous," Haruhi-kun laughed. "Then you wouldn't be able to enjoy everyone else's company but your own and your clients'. Isn't it better to have the freedom to be with whichever host you want depending on your mood?"

"Oh. That's true," she said thoughtfully. "Haruhi-chan, you're so smart!"

"No matter my mood, you'll always be my designated host!" I smiled. "You're so perfect that way!"

"Ah ha ha… Thanks again," Haruhi-kun laughed, blushing again. Ah, the cuteness.

The rest of the afternoon went by deliciously. Haruhi-kun was the perfect host, and was every bit as thoughtful, kind, considerate, intelligent, adorable, and natural as I heard he was. It was the first episode of many to come, and, I suppose my favorite. Despite all the other days I spent with Haruhi-kun at the Host Club, that first day was my favorite because I learned the most about him and the Host Club. If I didn't learn it then, it wouldn't have made my later visits as enjoyable because I wouldn't have known the family-like atmosphere Haruhi-kun and the rest of the Host Club shared. Without knowing that, I would've been just a guest at a gathering of strangers. It's better feeling like I'm visiting a tightly-knit family. A strange, random, and dysfunctional family that makes up for its faults with a precious kind of warmth and love.


End file.
